Dear Mr. Ricketts,
What the hell are you doing? Why am I waking up to the news that the Cubs are signing a deal with Motorola to plaster their ugly logo on one of the most iconic jerseys in sports? I knew you were cheap, but this is nothing short of obscene greediness.
Those jerseys have more history than you can even comprehend, and you’re just wiping your ass with it. It’s criminal to desecrate a Chicago icon like that. Millions of people care about this team, but you don’t seem to be one of them.
Here’s some stats for you Mr. Ricketts: 21st in OPS, 24th in batting average, 23rd in RBI’s, and 20th in runs. We don’t score runs, we don’t hit very well, and we don’t hit the ball hard. That’s a recipe for a pretty bad baseball team, which we are.
The pitching side of the equation is better, but it’s also pretty weak. We rank 9th in ERA, but we rank 22nd in saves despite ranking 16th in save opportunities. We can’t hit and we blow games.
All of this has culminated (As of August 1st) in a 52-58 record, which is good enough for last in the NL Central, 4th worst in the NL, and 8th worst in the MLB. You have to C that we’re an uninspiring, below average team that’s not very entertaining to watch.
Let’s look at the Cubs’ peers in terms of valuation. The Yankees (65-45) are fighting for the AL East, the Dodgers (63-46) have a healthy lead in the NL West, the Red Sox (57-50) are only two games out of a wild card spot, and the Giants (54-56) are middling. We are significantly worse than most of these teams.
I know paying the luxury tax is hard for you since you’re such a cheapskate, but you can at least recognize that we are getting horrible value for our payroll. We rank 7th, and we’re getting absolutely demolished by the Brewers (61-47). They rank 21st.
We’re even getting beat by the 28th(!!) ranked Pirates (55-53). You need to fire Jed Hoyer. We are getting slapped around by teams that aren’t even ranked in the top 20 for payroll. That is beyond unacceptable.
Here’s some qualitative observations. Our team doesn’t have a star. We have a few very good players, but there’s not really an individual that rises to the level of stardom that the Chicago Cubs deserve.
There’s also no reason that the 2024 Chicago Cubs should have Miguel Amaya as the starting catcher. He is a certified AAA player with an absolutely atrocious .215 batting average and .576 OPS.
It should be classified as psychological torture watching him step up to the plate in a crucial situation.
Meanwhile, Wilson Contreras has a .268 batting average and an .890 OPS. And he’s playing for our historic rival.
Also, Marquee blows. I was watching a game and there was a full ad break in the middle of an AB. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that I didn’t have to see the Cubs go down 1-2-3 for the millionth time.
Simply put, you need to start aggressively spending like other big market teams do. You need to start respecting the history and the culture of the Cubs. You need to fire Jed Hoyer and get someone who can build a winning team.
Anything short of that, and you can kindly get the fuck out of Chicago.
Sincerely,
Depressed Cubs fans everywhere
Sources for stats:
https://www.mlb.com/stats/team
https://www.mlb.com/cubs/standings
https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/payroll/_/year/2024/sort/cap_total2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_list_of_the_most_valuable_MLB_clubs
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/amayami01.shtml